About Me

I love creating art. I love the Creator! And through that love, I find a little slice of heaven on earth and I give Him all the glory! It's a great adventure and I'm excited to see what's around the bend! Come join me, won't you?

Monday, April 22, 2013

i got to play with a new stencil over this past weekend. this is one designed by terri stegmiller, for stencil girl.

terri is a wonderful artist and designer. i always look forward to playing with her whimsical style.

{and you knew, right ~ true love is a well painted stencil!}

i don't clean my stencils, but sometimes i will wipe the paint off of them ~ mostly so they won't stick to each other with the wet paint! otherwise, if there aren't any other potential casualties in the area, i let them be. i have found that if i clean them, i have a tendency to snag little edges, and bend them. not cool. so they stay purty with the various paint colors on them, right?

so i began with a small piece of hand-dyed fabric, and your average, inexpensive acrylic paint. dabbed here and there in purple, pink and turquoise. i deliberately tried to just 'dab' lightly {didn't always succeed} because my needle doesn't really appreciate a heavily painted surface.

the silver leaf is an embellishment i love to play with, too.

cute button trim for the cardstock backing.

so what do ya think of that cute stencil now? fun huh! i hope you try it!enjoy~soli deo glorialesliexo

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I LOVE to FINISH project! Nothing like that feeling of accomplishment! I'd been working on this piece for a couple months, and had published the finished picture in yesterday post - in case you missed it! Sometimes things have to "simmer" on my quilting stove for a while! Just call me a regular ol teapot! LOL. I began with a piece of hand-dyed fabric, in BRIGHT orange! Then came the words "Scatter Joy" from a notecard I 're-purposed' from my favorite art teacher/artist extraordinaire - Katie Twedt!

I'm getting better at including some decorative stitches... no need for me to be prejudiced! After all, everyone likes to get into the FUN... including the silver leaf (made for wood) but it's great on fabric!

And then it was time to apply a ZIPPER---lime green! Fabulous! Easy to apply free motion, as well as adding a decorative stitch - the triple straight stitch! And an experiment with some metallic foil - this time a different type, from "Jones Tones" with their dimensional foil glue. I tried to hurry-up (mistake!)... and dry it faster with my heat gun. No, No! It bubbled... perhaps it's okay on another day... but I didn't like it on the zipper, when it bubbled. No biggie... onward and UPWARD! A dab of black thread. This glue product is easy to sew through, FYI!

I had made my angelina fibers into a "fabric sheet" previous to placing on the appliques, of course. I got to put into play my sizzix machine and the fusible appliques were a breeze! No tedious hand-cutting, tracing... sore wrists! I bought mine from Patsy Thompson's webs site! (She has good sales, too!)AND great service!

Then a bit of a zig zag free motion edge-stitching on the flower petals- I call it the herky jerky!

And you may notice... I don't let it bother me when the lines cross! "There is a time for everything under the sun" and free motion is no different!!! Sometimes I don't like it to cross...sometimes I'm really lovin' it to cross!!! Shake it up girls... break down that box that walls you in... and enJOY!

I forgot to mention earlier... I also textured the orange fabric with bubble wrap, brushed with textile paint... as well as paintstiks! I enjoy doing that so much!

As you can see, I also used two different bindings... couldn't make up my mind?!!! YUP. Sometimes that's a dilemma for me. I liked the graphic "pop" of the black and white circles fabric... and I loved the purple to tie in the turquoise thread stitching and purple of the flowers - and it called out to be curved. Straight edge was a bit boring! So... curved edge it was... even though it's still a bit of a boxy shape... but I LIKE it.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

I was born and raised in Montana; my father's family homesteaded on the northern border of Montana, near the Canadian border, in the Sweet Grass Hills. My mother's family homesteaded in western Montana, on the Flathead River.
For many summers, I would pack up my boys and we'd travel 240 miles to go to the Flathead Valley, and spend a week with my Gramma Ila, enjoying the family farm, and picking what seemed like tons of raspberries, strawberries and more! My Aunt Vi had the most incredible Raspberry Patch... her huge yard was encircled with 4-6 rows of raspberry bushes that surrounded their home! Fabulous! Sometimes we had time to go through Glacier Park too... but we always had to get those berries home into the freezer!

This impressionistic journey began by thinking of those beautiful images and sweet summer memories with my Gramma. This fabric has three color gradations; a mauvey pinky (berries) color on the bottom, then a periwinkle purple (mountains), blue and soft gray/blue/green (sometimes rainy skies!) on the top.

Here is a detail of the 'feather' motif I added with a free motion couching foot. (The Bernina #43). I loved this yarn, and it was a fun thing to do... and a bit unexpected! The other embellishment I enjoy using is foil. This happens to be silver leaf, the flimsy stuff, usually for wood crafts, and the like.

How I love couching free motion style! Such creative freedom it brings me. To add more definition and presence to the silver leafing, I couched a deep purple yarn, which had a bit of golden flecks in it, and I loved the contrast and dimension it brings to this piece.... reminding me of those lovely, tall shining mountains, with rays of sun reflecting on the sparkling lakes and the cool breezes in the evenings. (Not to mention the color of the berries!) In the picture below, bobbin play detail. See
Blog entires on December 15: Bobbin Quilting and December 23: More Hints if you'd like to know more.

Hint: I used white thread on my top so the silver bobbin thread would be dazzling...

My favorite silver thread was just calling to me! And I decided to let it meander... just like the Flathead River through the steep mountain gorges... and of course, (below) there has to be just a glitzy touch of angelina fibers... it just reminds me of the sun and water, and fresh air!

In the pic below you will see a zig zag stitch; this is traditional couching over a fiber or cording, or something thick that cannot be sewn through the eye of the needle.
The picture shows where I've couched on wool roving. The beading you see here was done by machine, without a foot... yes you can do it that way! The exception however, is the triangle silver bead in this picture.. it was done free motion, but I did have a foot attached; the #29 (Bernina) clear free motion foot, which I turn to constantly! I just set it for a zig zag... and carefully... ensure your stitch width accommodates the width of the bead hole to the edge of the bead by using your hand wheel first! Then, at a slow speed, stitch your zig zag 3-4 times to secure the bead.
Questions? Please let me know and I would enjoy answering them! I love to demo this fun technique in the free motion classes I teach. I will be posting instructions specific to this technique in the New Year!

Beading by MACHINE... "look mom, no hands!" Well.... not quite! There is no foot, but I can bead faster this way than I can by hand, actually. It takes practice of course! Sooner than you might think, you can add a great many beads in a small space of time. It's a big plus to know your machine, and have good knowledge of threads and needles.
HINT: I always use polyester (Isacord brand) for strength, and size 2mm beads with holes that will accommodate a 90/14 needle, which in my opinion, has to be a microtex needle for sharpness. An advanced technique, it also requires a great deal of caution and focus as you certainly don't want to put the needle through your finger, (No, I haven't done it with this technique!).